Recovery in the Middle Ages - Two Middle-Aged Suburban Dads Talk About Recovering From Addiction to Drugs & Alcohol.
Mike and Nat are two middle-aged suburban dads wrestling with addiction and recovery while trying to juggle home life, work, and staying sober. Listen as they discuss current topics in the recovery community including 12 Step, alternative addiction recovery and the newest medical research . Listen to the guys talk about their daily struggle to maintain their recovery and anonymity in the world of soccer moms and PTA meetings. If the neighbors only knew...
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Episodes
Friday Sep 17, 2021
Friday Sep 17, 2021
RMA-Episode 46 Show Notes:
What is a “high-functioning” alcoholic? I think there are a fair number of people out there who are able to keep drinking and using while at the same time enjoying success in a career and having a normal-appearing life. The keyword there is “appearing” because as anyone who has been there can tell you, when you are wrestling with an addiction while trying to hold together a professional career, you spend a lot of time on appearances. Eventually, like a house of cards built on quicksand, the whole thing comes tumbling down. That’s what happened to this week’s guest Grant Boyken. Grant had a successful career and a solid family life until the day came where he could no longer hide the fact that he was living another life where he was drinking all day, and quietly falling apart. But don’t worry! The story has a happy ending.
Plus, a listener asks if getting high on Delta 8 THC is a relapse, and Mike and Nat talk about their wacky weeks, so please join us as we voyage into a confessional, really long, inquisitive episode of Recovery in the Middle Ages.
Grant’s Website:
https://www.soberliningsplaybook.com/
Recovery in the News:
The Rise of Harm Reduction in the War on Drugs
The Week in Weird:
Forgetful Ghost Hunters Accidentally ASpark Bomb Scare
LISTEN TO RMA ON YOUTUBE
PLEASE leave us a 5 star review on I-Tunes if you’re enjoying the show and SUBSCRIBE to get the latest episodes.
You can reach us by email at:
MikeR@middleagesrecovery.com
Natx@middleagesrecovery.com
Send comments, complaints, death threats, ideas and requests to be interviewed. We’ll talk to anyone!
Check out the website:
Www.middleagesrecovery.com
While you’re there, buy a T-Shirt and support your favorite recovery podcast.
Visit MiddleAgesRecovery.com and tell us your story of your struggles with alcohol and drugs. Fill out the “tell us your story” Form on the website, write your recovery or using story and we will read it on the air! (Anonymity guaranteed).
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER
Join the Facebook Page! Exciting things are happening there!
We also have a Facebook Group! Request to join the group. It’s a private space for continuing the discussion of what Nat and Mike talk about on the podcast. Hope to see you there.
If you’re in trouble with substance abuse and need help, reach out. There are thousands of people who have put problems with addiction in their rear-view mirrors and you can be one of them. While we neither endorse nor condemn any particular program, the sheer number of available AA and NA meetings suggest that reaching out to those organizations would be a good first step on the road to recovery.
https://www.aa.org/
https://www.na.org/meetingsearch/
Marijuana Anonymous (just in case):
This Naked Minds
Addiction Recovery Podcast
Friday Sep 10, 2021
Friday Sep 10, 2021
RMA-Episode 53 Show Notes:
This week on RMA: Tandem bicycles, tandem kayaks...tandem sponsors? Last week we looked at the darker side of sponsorship and how to avoid some of the common pitfalls that some might say are inherent in the sponsor model. This week we sound a more upbeat note and make a modest proposal: sponsorship the RMA way. How do we find a recovery mentor? What utility is there in having a recovery friend and accountability partner? We answer those questions and more, (and also go long on the week in review).
Also, this week is the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Mike and Nat share their memories of that terrible day and discuss the aftermath and how it affected their drinking and drug use.
Finally, Mike’s appearance on This Naked Mind is STILL drawing in a wave of new listeners. We welcome them with open arms. Hope you enjoy the podcast!
All this and more on a somewhat somber, reciprocal, high-wire walking episode of Recovery in the Middle Ages.
Mike’s Interview on Annie Grace
Sober Linings Playbook (Aggregated recovery and addiction news and resources).
Recovery in the News:
Michael K. Williams Dead at 54
The Week in Weird:
Alien Head Statue Found on Mars
LISTEN TO RMA ON YOUTUBE
PLEASE leave us a 5 star review on I-Tunes if you’re enjoying the show and SUBSCRIBE to get the latest episodes.
You can reach us by email at:
MikeR@middleagesrecovery.com
Natx@middleagesrecovery.com
Send comments, complaints, death threats, ideas and requests to be interviewed. We’ll talk to anyone!
Check out the website:
Www.middleagesrecovery.com
Visit MiddleAgesRecovery.com and tell us your story of your struggles with alcohol and drugs. Fill out the “tell us your story” Form on the website, write your recovery or using story and we will read it on the air! (Anonymity guaranteed).
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER
Join the Facebook Page! Exciting things are happening there!
We also have a Facebook Group! Request to join the group. It’s a private space for continuing the discussion of what Nat and Mike talk about on the podcast. Hope to see you there.If you’re in trouble with substance abuse and need help, reach out. There are thousands of people who have put problems with addiction in their rear-view mirrors and you can be one of them. While we neither endorse nor condemn any particular program, the sheer number of available AA and NA meetings suggest that reaching out to those organizations would be a good first step on the road to recovery.
https://www.aa.org/
https://www.na.org/meetingsearch/
Marijuana Anonymous (just in case):
This Naked Mind
Friday Sep 03, 2021
Friday Sep 03, 2021
RMA-Episode 52 Show Notes:
This week on RMA: When sponsors go bad. Anyone who has been around 12 step groups for any length of time is familiar with the idea of the “13th Step”. The act of “13th Stepping” is when a more experienced member of AA or NA pursues a romantic or other exploitative relationship with a new group member. Obviously this can be detrimental to someone’s recovery, but it can also be dangerous, and sometimes deadly. With courts using AA as an alternative to incarceration for all sorts of offences that have nothing to do with alcohol, the problem is getting worse.
Is such 13th stepping an inevitable byproduct of the 12 step model or are there safeguards that can be put into place by the involved organizations that would reduce or eliminate the potential for abuse of the sponsorship model? Mike and Nat, joined by RMA regular Erin Moore, do a deep dive into the issues of power imbalances and exploitation in 12 step groups, and consider ways to make meetings safer for people in recovery.
PLUS, Mike’s appearance on This Naked Mind has led to a wave of new listeners and we welcome them with open arms. Hope you enjoy the podcast!
All this and more on an extra inning, back to school, everyday episode of Recovery in the Middle Ages.
Mike’s Interview on Annie Grace
Sober Linings Playbook (Aggregated recovery and addiction news and resources).
Recovery in the News:
Doc Gooden wanted the Len Bias Coke
The Week in Weird:
Another Pair of Mysterious Cattle Mutilation Cases Reported in Oregon
LISTEN TO RMA ON YOUTUBE
PLEASE leave us a 5 star review on I-Tunes if you’re enjoying the show and SUBSCRIBE to get the latest episodes.
You can reach us by email at:
MikeR@middleagesrecovery.com
Natx@middleagesrecovery.com
Send comments, complaints, death threats, ideas and requests to be interviewed. We’ll talk to anyone!
Check out the website:
Www.middleagesrecovery.com
Visit MiddleAgesRecovery.com and tell us your story of your struggles with alcohol and drugs. Fill out the “tell us your story” Form on the website, write your recovery or using story and we will read it on the air! (Anonymity guaranteed).
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER
Join the Facebook Page! Exciting things are happening there!
We also have a Facebook Group! Request to join the group. It’s a private space for continuing the discussion of what Nat and Mike talk about on the podcast. Hope to see you there.If you’re in trouble with substance abuse and need help, reach out. There are thousands of people who have put problems with addiction in their rear-view mirrors and you can be one of them. While we neither endorse nor condemn any particular program, the sheer number of available AA and NA meetings suggest that reaching out to those organizations would be a good first step on the road to recovery.
https://www.aa.org/
https://www.na.org/meetingsearch/
Marijuana Anonymous (just in case):
This Naked Mind
Friday Aug 27, 2021
Friday Aug 27, 2021
RMA-Episode 51 Show Notes:
And now, a word from our sponsors. Just kidding, RMA doesn’t have any sponsors. Yet. BUT, Mike and Nat have a few things to say about the role of sponsors in recovery and this week they lay it down. What is the history of sponsorship in 12 Step programs? What are the benefits of having a sponsor? What are the potential pitfalls and how can you avoid them? Is there a better sponsorship model out there? In the first of a multi-part series, Mike and Nat discuss the current sponsorship model and propose ways it could be improved to be more helpful to your recovery journey.
PLUS, two years ago Mike said goodbye to the booze. One year ago he and Nat started the podcast. This week, Mike’s interview on This Naked Mind was released into the wild. How is he doing with all that?
All this and more on an over-exposed, gratefully deadicated, cryptozoologically aware episode of Recovery in the Middle Ages.
Mike’s Interview on Annie Grace
Recovery in the News:
Death at the Dead Show
The Week in Weird:
Second Bigfoot Sighting in Two Months in Ohio
LISTEN TO RMA ON YOUTUBE
PLEASE leave us a 5 star review on I-Tunes if you’re enjoying the show and SUBSCRIBE to get the latest episodes.
You can reach us by email at:
MikeR@middleagesrecovery.com
Natx@middleagesrecovery.com
Send comments, complaints, death threats, ideas and requests to be interviewed. We’ll talk to anyone!
Check out the website:
Www.middleagesrecovery.com
Visit MiddleAgesRecovery.com and tell us your story of your struggles with alcohol and drugs. Fill out the “tell us your story” Form on the website, write your recovery or using story and we will read it on the air! (Anonymity guaranteed).
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER
Join the Facebook Page! Exciting things are happening there!
We also have a Facebook Group! Request to join the group. It’s a private space for continuing the discussion of what Nat and Mike talk about on the podcast. Hope to see you there.If you’re in trouble with substance abuse and need help, reach out. There are thousands of people who have put problems with addiction in their rear-view mirrors and you can be one of them. While we neither endorse nor condemn any particular program, the sheer number of available AA and NA meetings suggest that reaching out to those organizations would be a good first step on the road to recovery.
https://www.aa.org/
https://www.na.org/meetingsearch/
Marijuana Anonymous (just in case):
This Naked Mind
Friday Aug 20, 2021
Friday Aug 20, 2021
RMA-Episode 50 Show Notes:
50 Episodes! For one solid year we’ve been on this journey together, sharing our experience strength and hope with all of you out there in podcast land. We hope it has been as fun and interesting for you to listen as it has for us to make it. Buckle up buttercup, we’re just getting started!
This week, Nat returns from the land of the endless Margaritas and we talk about vacations, sobriety, triggers, (and Mexican pharmacies), and all the stuff that can make or break your recovery while away from home. THEN we revisit the topic of medically assisted treatment (MAT), while deconstructing a “discussion” Mike had on facebook with some AA purists who think that if you’re taking a drug to help you quit drinking, then you really aren’t sober.
All this and more on a duty-free, poolside serviced, boysenberry syrup-soaked episode of Recovery in the Middle Ages.
Recovery in the News:
International House of Pancreatitis Will Begin Serving Booze With Pancakes
The Week in Weird:
Monstrous Ancient Dragon Discovered
LISTEN TO RMA ON YOUTUBE
PLEASE leave us a 5 star review on I-Tunes if you’re enjoying the show and SUBSCRIBE to get the latest episodes.
You can reach us by email at:
MikeR@middleagesrecovery.com
Natx@middleagesrecovery.com
Send comments, complaints, death threats, ideas and requests to be interviewed. We’ll talk to anyone!
Check out the website:
Www.middleagesrecovery.com
Visit MiddleAgesRecovery.com and tell us your story of your struggles with alcohol and drugs. Fill out the “tell us your story” Form on the website, write your recovery or using story and we will read it on the air! (Anonymity guaranteed).
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER
Join the Facebook Page! Exciting things are happening there!
We also have a Facebook Group! Request to join the group. It’s a private space for continuing the discussion of what Nat and Mike talk about on the podcast. Hope to see you there.If you’re in trouble with substance abuse and need help, reach out. There are thousands of people who have put problems with addiction in their rear-view mirrors and you can be one of them. While we neither endorse nor condemn any particular program, the sheer number of available AA and NA meetings suggest that reaching out to those organizations would be a good first step on the road to recovery.
https://www.aa.org/
https://www.na.org/meetingsearch/
Marijuana Anonymous (just in case):
This Naked Mind
Tuesday Aug 10, 2021
Tuesday Aug 10, 2021
RMA-Episode 49 Show Notes:
Legalize it. That's what the state of Oregon did last November when the voters overwhelmingly passed Ballot initiative 110 which decriminalized possession of small amounts of all drugs, including heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine. So how’s that working out? And what does the Oregon experiment teach us about how to set up a working structure which treats addiction as a healthcare issue, rather than a crime? It’s probably too early to tell what will happen over the long term, but the roll-out has been rocky and the plan to funnel more addicts into treatment has had trouble getting a foothold. Mike and Nat discuss the new law, and how its success or failure will set the bar for alternative approaches to addiction in the rest of the country.
All this and more on a decriminalized, wholistic, high-stakes episode of Recovery in the Middle Ages.
Recovery in the News:
Using LSD to treat Alcoholism
The Week in Weird:
Ghost Hunters Take the Plunge
Oregon Facing A Tough Test With Legalization of Hard Drugs
The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison
LISTEN TO RMA ON YOUTUBE
PLEASE leave us a 5 star review on I-Tunes if you’re enjoying the show and SUBSCRIBE to get the latest episodes.
You can reach us by email at:
MikeR@middleagesrecovery.com
Natx@middleagesrecovery.com
Send comments, complaints, death threats, ideas and requests to be interviewed. We’ll talk to anyone!
Check out the website:
Www.middleagesrecovery.com
Visit MiddleAgesRecovery.com and tell us your story of your struggles with alcohol and drugs. Fill out the “tell us your story” Form on the website, write your recovery or using story and we will read it on the air! (Anonymity guaranteed).
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER
Join the Facebook Page! Exciting things are happening there!
We also have a Facebook Group! Request to join the group. It’s a private space for continuing the discussion of what Nat and Mike talk about on the podcast. Hope to see you there.If you’re in trouble with substance abuse and need help, reach out. There are thousands of people who have put problems with addiction in their rear-view mirrors and you can be one of them. While we neither endorse nor condemn any particular program, the sheer number of available AA and NA meetings suggest that reaching out to those organizations would be a good first step on the road to recovery.
https://www.aa.org/
https://www.na.org/meetingsearch/
Marijuana Anonymous (just in case):
This Naked Mind
Friday Jul 30, 2021
Friday Jul 30, 2021
RMA-Episode 48 Show Notes:
The hero’s journey. In narratology and comparative mythology, the hero's journey, or the monomyth, is the common template of stories that involve a hero who goes on an adventure, is victorious in a decisive crisis, and comes home changed or transformed. How does this apply to recovery? Mike and Nat break it down and give you the tools you need to embark on your own journey of inner transformation.
All this and more on a mythical, meandering, adventurous episode of Recovery in the Middle Ages.
Recovery in the News:
Marijuana Saved my Life
The Week in Weird:
Jesus Take the Wheel
LISTEN TO RMA ON YOUTUBE
PLEASE leave us a 5 star review on I-Tunes if you’re enjoying the show and SUBSCRIBE to get the latest episodes.
You can reach us by email at:
MikeR@middleagesrecovery.com
Natx@middleagesrecovery.com
Send comments, complaints, death threats, ideas and requests to be interviewed. We’ll talk to anyone!
Check out the website:
Www.middleagesrecovery.com
Visit MiddleAgesRecovery.com and tell us your story of your struggles with alcohol and drugs. Fill out the “tell us your story” Form on the website, write your recovery or using story and we will read it on the air! (Anonymity guaranteed).
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER
Join the Facebook Page! Exciting things are happening there!
We also have a Facebook Group! Request to join the group. It’s a private space for continuing the discussion of what Nat and Mike talk about on the podcast. Hope to see you there.If you’re in trouble with substance abuse and need help, reach out. There are thousands of people who have put problems with addiction in their rear-view mirrors and you can be one of them. While we neither endorse nor condemn any particular program, the sheer number of available AA and NA meetings suggest that reaching out to those organizations would be a good first step on the road to recovery.
https://www.aa.org/
https://www.na.org/meetingsearch/
Marijuana Anonymous (just in case):
This Naked Mind
Friday Jul 23, 2021
Friday Jul 23, 2021
RMA-Episode 47 Show Notes:
This week on RMA-the news you can use. On a special, all-Recovery in the News episode of RMA, Mike and Nat do a deep dive on two timely stories, the first, a critique of the idea of drinking in moderation, and the second on how companies are planning to deal with returning workers who picked up some unfortunate addictions during lockdown.
All this and more on a stop the presses, off the record, secretly sourced episode of Recovery in the Middle Ages
The Moderation Myth-Why Controlled Drinking is Hell
The Workforce That’s Returning is Not the Same
The Week in Weird:
Mutilated Cow Discovered After UFO Sighting
LISTEN TO RMA ON YOUTUBE
PLEASE leave us a 5 star review on I-Tunes if you’re enjoying the show and SUBSCRIBE to get the latest episodes.
You can reach us by email at:
MikeR@middleagesrecovery.com
Natx@middleagesrecovery.com
Send comments, complaints, death threats, ideas and requests to be interviewed. We’ll talk to anyone!
Check out the website:
Www.middleagesrecovery.com
Visit MiddleAgesRecovery.com and tell us your story of your struggles with alcohol and drugs. Fill out the “tell us your story” Form on the website, write your recovery or using story and we will read it on the air! (Anonymity guaranteed).
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER
Join the Facebook Page! Exciting things are happening there!
We also have a Facebook Group! Request to join the group. It’s a private space for continuing the discussion of what Nat and Mike talk about on the podcast. Hope to see you there.If you’re in trouble with substance abuse and need help, reach out. There are thousands of people who have put problems with addiction in their rear-view mirrors and you can be one of them. While we neither endorse nor condemn any particular program, the sheer number of available AA and NA meetings suggest that reaching out to those organizations would be a good first step on the road to recovery.
https://www.aa.org/
https://www.na.org/meetingsearch/
Marijuana Anonymous (just in case):
This Naked Mind
Friday Jul 16, 2021
Friday Jul 16, 2021
RMA-Episode 46 Show Notes:
This week on RMA we square the circle on relapse and take a look at some of the statistics and studies dealing with the issue. We also discuss how to avoid a relapse and how to identify the triggers that put you in the danger zone.
Plus, Mike gets back from Mexico and Nat goes to the zoo, so join us as we voyage into an all-inclusive, hungry, angry, lonely and tired episode of Recovery in the Middle Ages.
Recovery in the News:
Trout can become Addicted to Meth
The Week in Weird:
Bigfoot Filmed Crossing River?:
LISTEN TO RMA ON YOUTUBE
PLEASE leave us a 5 star review on I-Tunes if you’re enjoying the show and SUBSCRIBE to get the latest episodes.
You can reach us by email at:
MikeR@middleagesrecovery.com
Natx@middleagesrecovery.com
Send comments, complaints, death threats, ideas and requests to be interviewed. We’ll talk to anyone!
Check out the website:
Www.middleagesrecovery.com
Visit MiddleAgesRecovery.com and tell us your story of your struggles with alcohol and drugs. Fill out the “tell us your story” Form on the website, write your recovery or using story and we will read it on the air! (Anonymity guaranteed).
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER
Join the Facebook Page! Exciting things are happening there!
We also have a Facebook Group! Request to join the group. It’s a private space for continuing the discussion of what Nat and Mike talk about on the podcast. Hope to see you there.If you’re in trouble with substance abuse and need help, reach out. There are thousands of people who have put problems with addiction in their rear-view mirrors and you can be one of them. While we neither endorse nor condemn any particular program, the sheer number of available AA and NA meetings suggest that reaching out to those organizations would be a good first step on the road to recovery.
https://www.aa.org/
https://www.na.org/meetingsearch/
Marijuana Anonymous (just in case):
This Naked Mind
Friday Jul 09, 2021
Friday Jul 09, 2021
RMA-Episode 44 Show Notes:
Relapse is a part of recovery. Or is it? This one little statement has engendered a fair amount of controversy and consternation in the recovery community. This week on a special episode of RMA, Erin Moore talks about her own pandemic relapse, how it happened and how she pulled out of the nosedive before crashing into the rocks.
Plus, it’s been a busy week in the RMA universe , so join Mike and Nat as they embark on a patriotic, explosive, freedom-filled episode of Recovery in the Middle Ages.
Connect with Erin Moore on the RMA facebook page, or at her webpage:
https://fallingphoenix.com/
Recovery in the News:
Sha’Carri Richardson, a Track Sensation, Tests Positive for Marijuana
The Week in Weird:
Want to buy a haunted Scottish village for less than 200k?
Prancercize:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-50GjySwew
Hobby-Horse Championship-Finland 2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JTB7m_VRzs
LISTEN TO RMA ON YOUTUBE
PLEASE leave us a 5 star review on I-Tunes if you’re enjoying the show and SUBSCRIBE to get the latest episodes.
You can reach us by email at:
MikeR@middleagesrecovery.com
Natx@middleagesrecovery.com
Send comments, complaints, death threats, ideas and requests to be interviewed. We’ll talk to anyone!
Check out the website:
Www.middleagesrecovery.com
Visit MiddleAgesRecovery.com and tell us your story of your struggles with alcohol and drugs. Fill out the “tell us your story” Form on the website, write your recovery or using story and we will read it on the air! (Anonymity guaranteed).
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER
Join the Facebook Page! Exciting things are happening there!
We also have a Facebook Group! Request to join the group. It’s a private space for continuing the discussion of what Nat and Mike talk about on the podcast. Hope to see you there.
If you’re in trouble with substance abuse and need help, reach out. There are thousands of people who have put problems with addiction in their rear-view mirrors and you can be one of them. While we neither endorse nor condemn any particular program, the sheer number of available AA and NA meetings suggest that reaching out to those organizations would be a good first step on the road to recovery.
https://www.aa.org/
https://www.na.org/meetingsearch/
Marijuana Anonymous (just in case):
This Naked Mind